Remote controls killed by charades

Aussie inventors have invented a device
that could replace remote with hand signals.

The machine developed by the University
of Wollongong converts simple hand gestures into electronic commands that can
operate devices such as TVs, video recorders and set top
boxes.

The inventors, Dr Prashan Premaratne and
Quang Nguyen, have managed to run machines using a ten different hand gestures
using a small camera captures an image of the gesture and matches it to a
pre-defined command.

Dr Premaratne says the prototype has
shown itself to be 100 per cent accurate under normal lighting conditions and
responsive to commands from a distance of 10 metres.

He is talking to Sony Europe about the
process which could also have uses in gaming applications.